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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. squash — the sport
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. drill — the tool
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. plane — a tool
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. current — electric
  11. current — happening now
  12. track — to keep track
  13. track — a song
  14. land — ground
  15. drill — army training
  16. land — a country
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. squash — to crush
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. track — a path
  22. land — to come down
  23. current — of water
  24. drill — a practice

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com